Summary

5.1        Religious freedom encompasses freedom of conscience and belief, the right to observe or exercise religious beliefs, and freedom from coercion or discrimination on the grounds of religious (or non-religious) belief.

5.2        This chapter discusses the source and rationale for freedom of religion in Australian law; how this freedom is protected from statutory encroachment; and when laws that interfere with freedom of religion may be justified.

5.3        Australians enjoy the freedom to worship and observe religion, and the freedom not to be coerced into engaging in religious practices. There are very few, if any, provisions in Commonwealth laws that interfere with religious freedom in these ways. The main areas of tension arise where religious freedom intersects with anti-discrimination laws, which have the potential to limit the exercise of freedom of conscience outside liturgical and worship settings.

5.4        Commonwealth anti-discrimination law makes it unlawful to discriminate against a person on the basis of a person’s personal attributes, such as their sex or sexual orientation, in areas of public life including employment, education and the provision of goods, services and facilities. These laws, such as the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth), are intended to give effect to Australia’s international treaty obligations, and other relevant international instruments, and to eliminate various forms of discrimination that have negative social, health, and financial effects for individuals and society.

5.5        Some religious groups or individuals may wish to engage in conduct that may constitute unlawful discrimination against others, on the grounds of sex, sexual orientation, or the marital or relationship status of individuals.

5.6        Some stakeholders have argued for reforms to anti-discrimination laws to ensure that freedom of religion is protected more fully, including through the operation of exemptions from anti-discrimination laws for religious organisations, or ‘conscientious objection’ provisions. Other stakeholders, by contrast, suggested that the existing exemptions for religious organisations should be narrowed or removed, not widened.

5.7        A broader concern of stakeholders is that freedom of religion may be vulnerable to erosion by anti-discrimination law if religious practice or observance is respected only through exemptions to general prohibitions on discrimination. An alternative approach would involve the enactment of general limitations clauses, under which legislative definitions of discrimination would recognise religious practice or observance as lawful discrimination, where the conduct is a proportionate means of achieving legitimate religious objectives.